Often when we’re standing in faith and believing God for something, be it healing, finances, a relationship, a job, whatever it is our focus is on us because it’s our need. Our every thought is directed to strengthening our own faith and trust in God for the answer, but we need to step outside of our own little space and realize that faith isn’t always about “me”.

While we are going through our trials there are many people right around us who are also hurting and looking to God for help. We can get so involved with our own issues that we don’t even see what they are going through and we don’t perceive that they need our help and our prayers so that they, too, can have faith and begin believing for their own victory.

We need to realize that when we are standing in faith, God is with us and working on our behalf. Our victory won’t come any sooner with us just staring at ourselves in the mirror and waiting. We need to step out of our own circle of needs and help others, and we can do that by reaching out and praying for them and encouraging them. (Don’t Quit Your Day Job)

Praying for others not only builds up our own faith even more, but it gives us the confidence in God to be able to encourage the ones we’re praying for. As we step out and apply our faith to help others get their victory, we become advocates for His will and others can see His truth through us.

The more we give of ourselves to others, the more we reap in our own victories. We don’t use this as a selfish formula for personal gain, but we use it as a growing process so that the faith that is in us will spread to others to make them strong; to make the body of Christ stronger.

This world is attacking too many people with disease, tragedies and struggles, and as Christians we want to be able to reach out and help as many as we can – and we can start by praying for the ones right around us who we know need God’s help. We can speak to people and encourage them in the Lord, help them to see what was accomplished on the cross, and stand with them as they step out in faith and become stronger.

And as they become stronger, so do we. When our focus is on others, our own faith grows and any doubts we had will fall to the wayside.

When Jesus was on the cross, He had every reason to cry, to be angry, to be totally stressed out. But He didn’t cry; He wasn’t angry and, in fact, He never even fought the soldiers or the crowd that scorned Him. His concern was His mother and He asked John to take care of her. (John 19:25-27) In all His agony and humiliation, His thoughts were not for Himself. He knew what His purpose was, what His goal was, and He knew that He had a mighty victory waiting for Him – and for us.

We have to accept that our faith and trust in God for our situation will bring the victory over it, and we need to use the “waiting” time to help others. We cannot be so focused on just us that no one else matters, because they not only need our help but they are part of our healing process. Our faith gets stronger and others are helped when we reach out and raise others up to the Lord because faith is not something that we hoard all to ourselves. Faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1) and when people around us don’t have that hope, we need to reach out and share it with them because faith isn’t always about “me”.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  … Colossians 3:16